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On Match Day, India Will Be ‘Out of Office’

When India takes on Pakistan on Wednesday, little work is likely to get done.

The Indian Premier League has been airing ads that riff off the frequent countrywide strikes in its “Bharat Bandh” campaign, proclaiming that India will shut down when the IPL’s fourth season kicks off on April 8. But judging by the preparations across India for Wednesday, when India battles Pakistan at the cricket World Cup for a spot in the finals, the shutters look more likely to be coming down midweek.

Come Wednesday and it’s very likely that there’ll be lots of sick calls coming in to managers—that is if he or she is in to take those calls.

On Facebook, users have already created event pages calling for a “national holiday”on the day of the semi-final match, and invited other members of the social networking site to attend. One such page already has over 7,000 people “attending.”

From asthma attacks to vertigo to sudden “field” visits, the excuses are likely to be legion.

“I have applied for emergency leave, claiming that I have suddenly realized that I’m scared of heights and have to see a therapist,” a report in The Times of India Monday quoted a pilot, who has tickets for the match, as saying.

Some companies have thrown in the towel and announced they’ll give all employees a half-day off so they can rush home and watch the match, which starts at 2:30 p.m. IST at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali. Other are trying to lure employees into office by promising to install big screens in offices and offer refreshments in the second half of the day.

It’s not the greatest timing for firms since it’s March 30, the second to last day of India’s financial year, which is why Dabur India, which gave employees a holiday for the T20 final between the archrivals in 2007, isn’t sure yet whether it can do that this time, The Economic Times reported.

Still, some businesses are doing well. Shops that sell Team India and World Cup merchandise are experiencing an uptick in demand for stuffed toys of mascot Stumpy, an elephant, as the Indian team gets closer to the finals.

The scene across the border is pretty much the same. Pakistan daily The News reported that cricket fans in Pakistan are pestering professors to cancel university classes on the day of the match.

But Mumbai tabloid Mid-Day did manage to rustle up one man who says he will turn his back on the match for the sake of work.

“I will be in a meeting in Bhopal from 8 am to 7 pm,” Harish Bijoor, who heads his own consulting firm, told the paper. “I believe in giving my 100 per cent to everything, so I will not check the score even though I have a live TV subscription on my iPad. I will of course, watch the match if the meeting is cancelled.”